Electronic weighing scales, specifically of the kind used in retail stores to weigh for example meat, produce, cheese or seafood in different, individually packaged quantities as ordered by each customer, often have a systems architecture comparable to desktop computers insofar as a main unit of the scale is connected to peripheral units such as an operator panel, touch screen, customer display, printer, as well as to a computer network of the business in which the weighing scale is used. Electronic retail scales, except for basic stand-alone models, therefore often have a plurality of data ports and signal ports in addition to a line power connection.
The connections between a weighing scale and peripheral units through plugs and sockets arranged on the outside of the platform unit and through openly exposed cables represent a problem particularly with scales that are used for the aforementioned applications on retail store counters for meat, seafood, cheese and the like, because the cables and the plug-and-socket connections are prone to contamination, difficult to clean, and also objectionable from an esthetic point of view.
As an example of the state of the art, U.S. Pat. No. 8,716,611 B2 shows a weighing scale for use in the food sector. This scale has a power cable and a data cable permanently connected to the back of the enclosure, i.e. to the side that faces away from the operator. The cables enter the enclosure through cable fittings, also referred to as cable glands, which have the function of securely clamping and sealing the cables at their passages though the housing. While the fittings prevent water from reaching the interior working parts during cleaning, this solves only part of the aforementioned problem as the exposed cables are still esthetically objectionable and take up counter space. As a further drawback, if one of the permanently connected cables is damaged, it cannot simply be exchanged by the user but has to be removed and replaced by a service technician.
It has been considered to arrange the connector ports on the bottom of the scale enclosure and to route the cables to the scale through an opening in the countertop. This takes the cables as well as the plugs and sockets out of sight, but makes access to them very difficult. Also, if the scale is carelessly moved or lifted from the counter, for example in order to clean the area under the scale, the pull on the cables can damage the connectors to the extent that the scale becomes non-functional and will require service. Indeed, this has been found to be the most frequent cause of service calls from some supermarkets.
The present invention therefore has the objective to provide a connector port arrangement for an electronic scale, wherein connector ports and cables are easily accessible and the connectors can easily be plugged and unplugged but are at the same time hidden from view during normal operation, shielded from contamination, and protected against being accidentally unplugged or getting damaged by pulling forces.